the whole reason Superman the Movie came out, though, was to make Superman relatable to the general public again, was it not?
Please remember after SIV they made Superboy in 1988 and failed and then tried again later with Lois and Clark and were very successful.
no, that's not true at all. The Superboy series did falter in the ratings during the first season, however, after an actor change of Superboy and Lex Luthor, the ratings were great for the TV series from season 2-4.
The reason Superboy was taken off the air were for 2 reasons:
1.) there was a lein for the ownership properties to who owned the Superboy franchise and likeness thereof. After SIV, the Salkinds thought they had the rights to make a TV series, but unfortunately, they didn't.
2.) the producers did not want two Superman shows airing at the same time, for they feared that the general audience would become confused to watching two different shows.
because of these conflicts, Warner Bros was able to pull the Superboy franchise from the air at its height on syndicated television... the Salkinds were planning to do a movie tie-in to finish up the series, but was never able to make it.
i've seen the opening credits of the Superboy show for season 4... it bears an amazing and striking resemblance to the opening redits of Lois and Clark, so I am under the impression that WB stole the design logos and intro texts from the Superboy show
Superboy was a show based in action/science fiction. Lois and Clark was a romantic comedy.
Superboy did well enough to have a possibly a tie-in tv movie.Lois and Clark tanked in the fourth season because of its ratings, and was never renewed for a fifth season.
there was a LOT of merit to the Superboy TV series, as it was a very good tv series- and there is a lot more going for it than the Lois and Clark show , which was cancelled due to terrible ratings and poor storyline. Superboy was never cancelled because of poor ratings, or poor storylines... it was cancelled because of the lien with WB and the fact that WB did NOT want two Superman shows being aired at the same time.
and yet superman still gets called childish, campy, corny, silly, and on some points, even stupid...
mostly because he no longer relates to people anymore.
and yet superman still gets called childish, campy, corny, silly, and on some points, even stupid...
mostly because he no longer relates to people anymore.
I used to hate Superman....
...I'm more than over it. I am so excited for Man of Steel.
Will Nolan's name as a producer draw in audience that would normally avoid Superman movies ?
Most likely anyone who enjoyed any of his Batman movies will at least be paying attention to it now.Will Nolan's name as a producer draw in audience that would normally avoid Superman movies ?
"Superhate"? You mean "ignorance" and "a lack of imagination"?
Can't put all the blame on the audience. The paying field has evolved quite a bit around him over the years as well.
No doubt.
At the same time, I love when people tried to tell me about Superman without having ever read a single comic. Really, it's the price of being arguably the greatest pop culture icon.
Icon for some, maybe just a familiar brand for others.
Most likely anyone who enjoyed any of his Batman movies will at least be paying attention to it now.
I didn't mean icon as in some form of idolatry. I meant it as in the way that Mickey Mouse is an icon -- extremely recognizable and known (to whatever degree). You don't have to be a fan of either character to see that.
Regardless, even being a brand means that his impact on popular culture transcends that a typical character. His symbol alone stands for more than him.
But I don't think Mickey exists in the kind of competitive atmosphere that Superman does these days. So his 'iconography' is probably more secure than Supes' is.....and his fall in popularity isn't exactly a 'cost' of it, it's more about the perception of being surpassed by the concept, even if he helped create it way back when.